Balance transfer calculator Is a balance transfer actually worth the fee?
Compare keeping your current credit card with moving the balance to a promotional balance transfer offer. Enter the transfer fee, promotional APR and length, post-promotion APR, and monthly payment to estimate break-even time, balance after the promotion, payoff time, and total interest and fees.
Your balance transfer offer
Saved only for this calculator on this device.
Offer comparison
The transfer breaks even in about 2 months if the payment stays at $300.
Explore balance transfer tradeoffs
See whether the promotional interest savings outweigh the transfer fee and any balance left after the offer ends.
What happens during the promotional period
- Interest if you keep the current card
- Transfer fee plus promotional interest
- Current-card balance after the same period
Balance transfer versus current card through payoff
| Option | Payoff time | Interest and fee | Total paid |
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Understand your balance transfer estimate
Learn how the transfer fee, promotional period, and post-promotion APR work together.
Does a 0% balance transfer mean the offer is free?
No. Even when the entered promotional APR is 0%, the offer can still charge an upfront transfer fee. When the entered promotional APR is above 0%, the estimate includes promotional interest too.
Other account fees may exist but are not included unless they are represented by the calculator.
What happens if a balance remains after the promotion?
The entered post-promotion APR applies to the remaining transferred balance after the promotional period in this estimate.
Actual offer terms control and should be reviewed directly.
How does the balance transfer break-even point work?
The break-even point is the first estimated promotional month when avoided interest on the current card is at least as large as the transfer fee plus promotional interest.
Balance transfer terms, explained
Get plain-language definitions of the offer and results.
Definitions of terms
- Transfer fee
- The upfront percentage charged on the balance moved to the new card.
- Promotional APR
- The temporary rate applied during the offer period.
- APR after promotion
- The rate applied to any balance left after the offer ends.
- Break-even point
- The first month when avoided interest is greater than the transfer fee and promotional interest.
More money questions
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About this balance transfer estimate
Review what is included, how the offer is modeled, and what the estimate excludes.
What is included
The calculation uses the transferred balance, current-card APR, monthly payment, transfer fee, promotional APR, promotional period, and post-promotion APR.
Key assumptions
The transfer fee is added to the new balance. Monthly interest is added before the entered payment. The promotional APR applies during the entered offer period, and the post-promotion APR applies afterward. The same fixed monthly payment is used for both payoff paths.
Break-even is the first promotional month when current-card interest is at least as large as the transfer fee plus promotional interest. Each final payment is limited to the remaining balance and interest owed.
What is excluded
The estimate does not include:
- New purchases
- Purchase APRs that differ from the transfer APR
- Late fees
- Penalty APRs
- Annual fees
- Transfer limits
- Eligibility or approval
- Offer-specific payment-allocation rules
- Lost promotional rates after a late payment
Methodology and disclaimer
Updated August 23, 2026. This estimate is educational and is not financial advice. See the full disclaimer.